Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld flew into the eye of the Iraqi storm on Thursday and denied his surprise visit was a publicity stunt to repair the damage from a scandal over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Hours after U.S. lawmakers viewed "sadistic" new photographs, Rumsfeld arrived by helicopter at Abu Ghraib jail, Saddam Hussein's most notorious prison, where seven U.S. military police reservists are accused of sexually and physically tormenting detainees.
During his half-hour tour of the site in an armored bus, most of the 3,000 prisoners kept in razor-wire compounds looked on impassively, but some shook fists or gave thumbs-down signs.
"We told ourselves that the right thing to do was to come out here and look you folks in the eye," Rumsfeld told U.S. guards in the prison mess hall after meeting Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new commander in charge of jails in Iraq.
"In recent months the things that happened at this base happened under our responsibility and it has been a body blow for all of us...Don't let anyone tell you that America is what's wrong with the world because it's not.
"We will get through this tough period, no doubt about it."
Reuters article
Hours after U.S. lawmakers viewed "sadistic" new photographs, Rumsfeld arrived by helicopter at Abu Ghraib jail, Saddam Hussein's most notorious prison, where seven U.S. military police reservists are accused of sexually and physically tormenting detainees.
During his half-hour tour of the site in an armored bus, most of the 3,000 prisoners kept in razor-wire compounds looked on impassively, but some shook fists or gave thumbs-down signs.
"We told ourselves that the right thing to do was to come out here and look you folks in the eye," Rumsfeld told U.S. guards in the prison mess hall after meeting Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new commander in charge of jails in Iraq.
"In recent months the things that happened at this base happened under our responsibility and it has been a body blow for all of us...Don't let anyone tell you that America is what's wrong with the world because it's not.
"We will get through this tough period, no doubt about it."
The New York Times, citing counterterrorism officials, said CIA interrogation methods used to extract information from al Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo are so severe the FBI has told its agents to stay away from the sessions.
The United States makes a distinction between detainees held under the Geneva Convention, such as those in Iraq, and what Washington calls "enemy combatants" held at Guantanamo.
The United States makes a distinction between detainees held under the Geneva Convention, such as those in Iraq, and what Washington calls "enemy combatants" held at Guantanamo.
So you can imagine what it must be like at Guantanamo. Or can we?
"I feel very strongly that these [latest as yet unreleased] photographs should not be made public. I feel that it could possibly endanger the men and the women of the armed forces as they are serving and at great risk," Warner said.
I think it's a little late for that, as well, Senator.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
